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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Relations Commission - Minutes - 05/09/20131 City of Fort Collins Human Relations Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 9, 2013 5:30 p.m. CIC Room, 300 Laporte Avenue, City Hall West, Fort Collins, Colorado The Human Relations Commission promotes acceptance and respect for diversity through educational programs and activities to discourage all forms of discrimination based on age, disability, gender, race, religion etc. Council Liaison: Mayor Karen Weitkunat Staff Liaison: Melissa Herzog Recorder: Michele Dunlop Commissioners Present: Colleen Conway, Myles Crane, Christine Hays, James Owiny, Mary Lyons, Preety Sathe, Faith Sternlieb Unexcused Absent: Kent Bryans, James Lesco Others Present: Tracy Hays, Program Director, United Way 2-1-1 of Larimer County Meeting Summary: 1. Ms. Tracy Hays, Program Director, United Way 2-1-1 of Larimer County spoke passionately about the important role of this United Way-sponsored agency in responding to various needs in our community, addressing calls for basic information, requests requiring problem assessment, as well as life-threatening disaster response and life-sustaining follow-up. 2. HRC confirmed its plan on May 21, 2013 to appear before Council jointly with Touchstone Health Partners regarding the Proclamation for May as Mental Health Awareness Month. 3. HRC voted unanimously to collaborate with the Foundation on Aging, the Senior Advisory Board and several others in planning a Summit on Aging in 2014 as well as one in a series of proposed Channel 14 programs on aging leading up to the Summit. 4. James Owiny, Chair, Media and Community Recognition led an after-action review of the Human Relations Awards breakfast on May 2, 2013 and expressed gratitude to Commission members for their dedication in making this event such a major success. 5. HRC members started preparations for their Periodic Review with Council on July 9, 2013. Call to Order Chair Myles Crane called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. Meeting Highlights Commissioner Mary Lyons volunteered to compile highlights for the May 9, 2013 meeting of the Human Relations Commission. Public Input There was no public input. 2 Agenda Review Commissioner Mary Lyons motioned to move liaison reports down the agenda after committee reports on a permanent basis, with Committee Chairs who are liaisons for various groups adjoining their liaison and committee reports. Commissioner Preety Sathe seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Minute Review No changes were made to the Minutes for the April 11, 2013 meeting of the Human Relations Commission. Commissioner Christine Hays motioned to approve the Minutes. Commissioner Mary Lyons seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Budget Report Staff Liaison Melissa Herzog announced an available budget of $2,214.21. However, she noted this balance would be reduced by approximately $ 781.00 pending estimated outstanding charges from the Senior Center and Channel 14. The Women’s Commission reimbursement has not yet been determined. Commissioner James Owiny motioned to approve the budget. Commissioner Christine Hays seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Guest Speaker Chair Myles Crane introduced the evening’s guest speaker, Tracy Hays, Program Director for United Way 2-1-1 of Larimer County. Ms. Tracy Hays gave a presentation on United Way 2-1-1 of Larimer County. Ms. Hays has been with 2- 1-1 for ten years, and was essential to the process of bringing 2-1-1 services to Colorado. She is a member of 2-1-1’s national governing organization, the Alliance for Information Referral Systems (AIRS), and is familiar with the 2-1-1 program on both a statewide and national continuum. 2-1-1 is a trained group of professionals with backgrounds in psychology, counseling, sociology and business. Above and beyond their educational backgrounds, new hires are also trained in suicidology and crisis mitigation and certified with FEMA. 2-1-1 professionals specialize in information referral, on a couple different levels: basic phone calls, which require the straightforward relay of information, and problem assessments, which are considerably more complex. If a caller requests information on rent assistance, 2-1-1 operators are trained to investigate the situation, build a rapport with the caller and identify the root of the problem. The caller may be referred to rent assistance programs, but may also be referred to other relevant and beneficial programs. 2-1-1 strives to follow up on all completed problem assessment calls. 2-1-1, working in partnership with the Office on Aging, makes a special effort toward follow-up with the senior population. Ms. Hays is in the process of devising a new program within 2-1-1, with scheduled 30, 60 and 90 day follow-up checks for senior callers. This program will illustrate the percentage of callers who take the steps they need with the referrals 2-1-1 gives them within 30, 60 and 90 days, so 2-1-1 can identify the amount of follow-up needed to help callers close service gaps. 2-1-1 features a comprehensive database of over 14,000 services, with connections and resources across the entire state of Colorado. 2-1-1 touches every piece of information within its database at least once a year, and resource lists are updated and distributed on a quarterly basis. Ms. Hays requests that organizations with outdated resource lists please contact 2-1-1 for a refreshed and accurate list. At this time, 2-1-1 of Larimer County receives 95% of its budget from United Way, $13,000 from the Office on Aging, and another chunk from local boards and commissions. Unfortunately, in spite of 2-1- 3 1’s extensive resources and dedicated operators, a recent change in funding mandated the reduction of 2- 1-1 service time from 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the extended operating hours of 7:30 AM-10:30 PM Monday-Friday. Analysis has shown that 2-1-1 received only 1% of its total call volume outside of those extended hours. Ms. Hays concluded her thorough presentation with an overview of 2-1-1 statistics, identifying top needs and service gaps in Larimer County. In 2012, during the High Park Fire, 2-1-1 of Larimer County pulled in 286 volunteers to answer over 10,000 disaster calls, for an estimated value of $135,900. Ms. Hays emphasized 2-1-1’s commitment to vulnerable communities, not only during widespread emergencies like the High Park Fire, but also during individual crises. Where possible and needful, 2-1-1 will advocate between multiple agencies to help mitigate and stabilize emergencies. Chair Myles Crane thanked Ms. Tracy Hays for her excellent work with 2-1-1 and recommended her interesting presentation to the Senior Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board and Commission on Disability. Ms. Hays agreed that she would love to get the word out. Standing Committee and Liaison Reports: Executive Committee Chair Myles Crane reported that the Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) facilitated a meeting on May 2nd hosted by the Loveland Senior Advisory Board on Growing Older in Larimer County. The Loveland meeting was somewhat similar to the award-winning Silver Tsunami event previously supported by HRC and other City boards in Fort Collins during 2011-2012. Chair Myles Crane also reported that the Larimer County Office on Aging Advisory Council had presented its Outstanding Family Caregiver and Outstanding Senior awards earlier that day. Chair Myles Crane confirmed the following guest speakers for 2013: June: Marisa Martinez, Interim Acting Director, Alliance for Suicide Prevention August: Diane Knight, President-Elect, Project Self-Sufficiency September: Ray Caraway, President, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado Chair Myles Crane requested the Commission’s approval to formally invite Josh Autry, Executive Director, The Coloradoan, to speak in July, Suzanne Jarboe-Simpson, discussion facilitator, to facilitate the 2014 HRC Work Plan in October, and Beth Sowder, Manager, City of Fort Collins Neighborhood Services, to speak at an unspecified future date. Commissioner James Owiny motioned to authorize Chair Myles Crane to invite these three guest speakers. Commissioner Faith Sternlieb seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Commissioner Mary Lyons added that it might be beneficial to extend Josh Autry’s invitation to the Coloradoan’s Sarah Jane Kyle as well. Chair Myles Crane concluded his report with an overview of the meeting hosted by the City Manager on April 29, 2013 for all Board and Commission chairs to discuss issues regarding redevelopment of the mall. The meeting featured presentations from Messrs. Bruce Hendee, Mike Beckstead, Darin Atteberry, and the city’s newly-hired PR representative, Ms. Emily Williamson. The City Manager requested that the board and commission chairs in attendance write City Council to express their views on the meeting. Although none of the chairs could speak on behalf of their boards without previously discussing the issues with their respective boards, several chairs including Myles Crane did email private comments as residents of Fort Collins. , Myles’written comments to Council were then distributed to the HRC for information purposes together with an acknowledgment received from the City Manager. Government Relations Committee 4 Commissioner Mary Lyons provided an overview of the May 7, 2013 meeting of the City Council. The Council declared May 5-11 as Drinking Water Week, May 12-18 as National Women’s Health Week, May 13-17 as Salvation Army Week, and May 18-24 as “I Am Tourism” Week. Public discourse featured seven speakers. Five of those speakers politely asked the Council to consider allowing public comment on fracking at the May 21, 2013 Council meeting. Another speaker raised the concern that local law enforcement was ticketing members of the homeless population for sleeping on park benches. A final speaker asked the Council to think about brainstorming a climate change program or plan for the City of Fort Collins. The Council expressed its serious concern for the issue of homelessness and ticketing, and charged Darin Atteberry with investigating the problem. The HRC expressed a similar concern for the issue. After a balanced and insightful discussion of the problem, Commissioners agreed that homelessness is a complex issue that reaches into multiple levels of the community, and that both sides of the story were not represented equally at the May 7 session of the City Council. As such, Committee Chair Preety Sathe agreed to draft a brief note to Mayor Karen Weitkunat on behalf of the HRC, inquiring about follow-up from the City Council and asking if the HRC might be of assistance in investigating the issue. Educational Outreach Committee Committee Chair Christine Hays announced that representatives of the HRC will meet with Touchstone Health Partners at the May 21, 2013 meeting of the City Council for the 5:30 p.m. proclamation of May as Mental Health Month. Commissioners interested in attending are asked to be at the meeting by 5:25 p.m. and to stay until 6:00 p.m. Committee Chair Christine Hays confirmed that Commissioners Faith Sternlieb, Mary Lyons, Preety Sathe, Colleen Conway, Kent Bryans, and James Owiny would be in attendance to co-sponsor the proclamation with Touchstone. Committee Chair Christine Hays updated Commissioners on the status of the HRC’s participation in PrideFest. PrideFest is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, 2013, with set-up beginning at 9:00 a.m., booths opening at 10:00 a.m. and the festival closing at 4:00 p.m. After a succinct organizational discussion, the HRC agreed that Committee Chair Christine Hays, Chair Myles Crane, and Commissioners Mary Lyons and Colleen Conway would staff the HRC’s booth at PrideFest, and that Staff Liaison Melissa Herzog would look into having the City provide a canope ,table, chairs, HRC flyers and HRC business cards. Commissioner Mary Lyons motioned to approve a $55 budgetary expense for the purchase of a booth at PrideFest. Commissioner James Owiny seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Committee Chair Christine Hays requested confirmation of attendance from all Commissioners for the required June 26, 2013 HRC Teambuilding Retreat from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Committee Chair Christine Hays agreed to try to touch base with Vice Chair James Lesco and Commissioner Kent Bryans, who were not present to confirm their attendance at this event. Commissioner Colleen Conway reported on a recent meeting of the ACLU. The ACLU is interested in hosting a public interactive meeting on the subject of “Should We Criminalize the Mentally Ill”. Commissioner Colleen Conway expressed her discomfort with this title, which she described as negative and potentially polarizing. However, she also emphasized the importance of the discussion, and characterized the prevalence of mental health and addiction issues as a significant problem in the Fort Collins community. Commissioner James Owiny suggested “How Should We Be Addressing Mental Health Issues in Our Community?” as a less polarizing title. After providing an overview of a meeting on senior issues and aging, Commissioner Mary Lyons concluded the Educational Outreach Committee’s report with the following proposed motion: 5 “The HRC requests approval to collaborate with other community organizations including but not limited to the Foundation on Aging, the Senior Advisory Board, the Office on Aging Advisory Council and others to present a Summit on Aging in 2014. As an integral part of the planning and promotional process for this event, HRC members and perhaps former HRC members will be invited to participate on a Cable 14 television broadcast discussing what HRC has done, is doing and plans to do for older members of our population. This initiative has been proposed by the Foundation on Aging under the leadership of Bonnie Shetler and Lisa Poppaw.” Committee Chair Christine Hays seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. The HRC agreed that the Summit on Aging would provide an excellent opportunity not only to discuss aging issues, but also to collaborate with a variety of different organizations. Chair Myles Crane noted his previous correspondence with Dr. Manfred Diehl, Director of Family Services and Human Development, Colorado State University, who tentatively agreed to speak on October 28 at the Senior Center, pending the future approval of the Human Relations Commission. Media and Community Recognition Committee Chair Myles Crane confirmed that the Fall 2014 Human Relations Awards Breakfast would be a proposed collaboration between the Human Relations Commission, the Commission on Disability and the Women’s Commission. Committee Chair James Owiny led an After Action Review of the prior week’s HRC Awards Breakfast. He asked commissioners to comment on the planning, nominations, logistics, venue, food, and keynote speaker, in addition to any matters the Commission did especially well and any matters that the HRC could improve. Chair Myles Crane lauded M&CR Chair James Owiny and other Commission members who provided exemplary teamwork in planning, ,organizing, and conducting the 2013 event. Committee Chair Christine Hays commented that Commissioner Faith Sternlieb’s selection of the keynote speaker was excellent. Committee Chair Christine Hays also commented that she observed a number of guests taking notes during her presentation. Chair Myles Crane shared laudatory comments from the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem about the event These City leaders as well as several attendees commended Committee Chair James Owiny for his superb closing remarks. Senior Advisory Board member Wade Turner sent a letter applauding speaker Laura Frank, and Tony Espinoza wrote a special thank you to the H R C for his award. Chair Myles Crane remarked that the food service and catering service were also excellent. Committee Chair Christine Hays commended commissioners for their dedicated collaboration at all stages of planning. Commissioner Mary Lyons suggested bringing together representatives from the Women’s Commission and Commission on Disability to coordinate planning. The HRC discussed the nomination process and agreed that more outreach might be helpful in the future to ensure quantity and variety of nominations. In the interest of time, Chair Myles Crane tabled further discussion of these good process improvements for a future meeting of the Media and Community Recognition Committee. Committee Chair James Owiny thanked Committee Chair Christine Hays for assisting with media outreach, Commissioner Faith Sternlieb for arranging the keynote speaker, Commissioner Mary Lyons for coordinating invitations and RSVPs, and Staff Liaison Melissa Herzog for assisting with every step of the process. Chair Myles Crane also recognized commissioners Preety Sathe and Faith Sternlieb for their participation at planning meetings as well as their helpful preparation at the Senior Center together with Melissa Herzog on the afternoon prior to the event. Headed that the HRC was also delighted to welcome back Commissioner Colleen Conway and appreciated her attendance and participation at the Awards Breakfast. 6 Committee Chair James Owiny also noted that previously scheduled future M&CR meetings have been cancelled. M&CR meetings will be called as needed. They were previously scheduled so that the Committee could ensure that the HRA Breakfast was on track. the cancellation of the May 16, 2013 meeting of the Media and Community Recognition Committee. Old Business Chair Myles Crane reminded commissioners that a once in every six years Periodic Review of HRC by Council would occur on July 9th. He distributed the Boards and Commissions Periodic Review Questionnaire due to Council on , June 7, 2013. He requested commissioners to email him their feedback to the Council’s seven questions by May 29th. . Chair Myles Crane proposed, with Committee Chair Christine Hays’s permission, all commissioners should attend a 30 minute meeting to discuss the Council Questionnaire on June 4, 2013 at noon immediately prior to the previously scheduled EOC meeting. He stated that he would consolidate input from the commissioners for discussion at the June 4th meeting, which would be followed by the meeting for EOC members. Commissioner Christine Hays requested permission from the HRC to cancel their June 26 Teambuilding Retreat in the event that the Commission loses one or two of its members, to be rescheduled with a full board. Commissioner Mary Lyons motioned to grant Commissioner Christine Hays’ request. Commissioner Faith Sternlieb seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. New Business Chair Myles Crane announced that Staff Liaison Melissa Herzog received an inquiry from the City’s Public Relations regarding the H Re C’s role on the Council Liaison Program. Chair Myles Crane suggested that the HRC should consider compiling a revised, HRC brochure which would highlight the HRC’s role in this activity and others In the interim Chair Myles Crane will work with Commissioner Preety Sathe to summarize HRC’s role in this program. Commissioner Preety Sathe then addressed the Commission presenting a helpful overview about how the program functions. Chair Myles Crane and Commissioner Preety Sathe also stated their intention to attend a future meeting of the Citizens Review Board before developing the HRC summary. . Commissioner Preety Sathe confirmed her intention to attend the May 21 and June 4, 2013 meetings of the City Council. Commissioner Faith Sternlieb will attend the June 18, 2013 meeting of the City Council. Commissioner Mary Lyons motioned to approve the abbreviated Meeting Summary highlights reported on page 1 of these Minutes for distribution to Council as well as various boards and commissions. Committee Chair Christine Hays seconded the motion, which was approved 7:0. Motion to Adjourn Commissioner Faith Sternlieb made a motion to adjourn. Committee Chair Christine Hays seconded the motion. The motion was approved 7:0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. A special HRC Periodic Review Meeting for all HRC members is scheduled on June 4, 2013, at 12:00 p.m. at the Whole Foods Café. The next HRC regular meeting is scheduled on June 13, 2013, at 5:30 p.m. in the CIC room.